How Do you Build a Business?

by | Experiences, Stage 4: Business

Resources Mentioned: Mint.com, WordPress, The Art of Non Conformity, Clickbank

piece by piece by piece. that’s how. the quote goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and any online business endeavor certainly isn’t either. i’ve always reflected how it’s less about any amazing product or skill, and more about managing the various parts of business and sticking with it. there’s light at the end of the tunnel, at some point things will click. keep gaining experience and your path will become clear. here’s some clarity of my own.

i’ll share some progress, and reflect on some wisdom i’ve learned the last few months creating content.

progress updates feb 10th

i’ve finally finished the video’s needed for the “train me” wordpress and websites section. the form is complete for the “build me one” and i have testimonial requests into recent clients to finish up the page.

i’m %90 done with the troubleshooter page, and i can use all three of these frameworks for the “launching a product” section, which should be named something better like “start selling” or “starting sales”. i’m becoming more concerned with just having something available, then perfecting everything. it’s the web, everything can be updated. i’ve also realized i can’t just have a form for “service” of some kind on every page. it’s about value, so for each service/product topic help page, i need to incorporate what i’m selling with free blog posts, off-site valuable resources, some affiliates, some just plain old free valuable information.

the links aren’t really announced or that public yet…but here they are for you. comments always welcome.


money

i’ve struggled with getting into a creative mindset to finish this relaunch (for several reasons unimportant), but it’s around the corner. i’ve also (despite my efforts) to not take new work, continue to match or beat my 9-5 salary with online business work. i’m baffled.

this has proved amazing on one hand, in that it’s impressive money, but bad in that my internal systems creation is crawling because i fail to say no and work on the business. in addition, stress runs high with so much action/fulfillment (more e-mails, more communication), and free time is less qualitative. not the ultimate goal of business with life design in mind.

i wonder if anyone else struggles with this, or is it just my background with IT work, and previously freelancing as a main source of income. the freelancing, entrepreneur line gets so blurry for me. what’s it going to take to effectively switch modes?

it’s frustrating and a bit baffling to me that when i make specific efforts to build more streamlined services and create something that is sustaining, (followers, readers, products, perceived authority, large client base, ect.) more like a business than freelancing, that i also start matching my 9-5 paycheck (minus taxes and %10 IRA) in online income from a mixture of previous clients, new client inquires from various places, and justanswer.com.

the danger, and difficulty is that the freelancing pipeline for new work can dry up at anytime because there’s no active funnel, so i can’t trust it. more so, if i ever want IT Arsenal to work as a business, i need to ignore new opportunity like this.

lesson learned: if your work lends itself to freelancing, and you’re trying to build a business, you must master when to say no.


venture statuses

  • itarsenal.com hasn’t had a new post in months. internally the services and products involved in the relaunch are progressing slowly, but regularly, as talked about on this blog. i’ll do a rolling launch soon after asking those who’ve i’ve worked with for help in spreading the word, and coming up with a few tactics to slowly leak out that new valuable information is on it’s way and offer some free valuable info/announcements as appeal. maybe a set of free video’s, or reports, or discounts, you’ve seen these tactics before…they work, but take thought to create on your own.
  • hdtestvideo.com hasn’t been updated in weeks for affiliate income or linking. it’s on the backburner.
  • memoryphotoblocks.com has a set mindmap for purchase flow for me to create, illustrations are being drafted (outsourced), copy is being added (partner), and product examples being created (partner). it’s a month away from it’s internal dry run for sales. will probably be released to friends only at first to work out the kinks.
  • other client work involved lately has been follow up with existing web clients, a macbook tune up job i took because it was easy, and normal justanswer.com quota for questions answered in a month.
  • i also received a clickbank check for $93, ahh the feeling of true passive income. this check comes because readers buy the tools i share about. the ones i use, test, e-mail, and on rare occasion share through social media to my commenters/readers/audience/friends. you guys rock.


maxims and wisdom from the last 2 months

as i continue the moonlighting and get over the hump of being sick and dealing with some “winter blues” i have some maxims to share, and things i’ve noticed that get you through the tough times, and move you on course. i hope they move you on your course as well.

  • read quotes often. wisdom is sticky.
  • mental freedom is imperative. if you feel trapped, you move like a snail. keep your brain free however possible. most of the time by making sure you get absorbed in something outside your business from time to time.
  • you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll start many ideas, keep doing so.
  • on topic reading is important to keep your head in the game. you better be reading a book. my current book of choice is The Art of Non Conformity
  • it may be fear, it may just be life, but something will try to hold you back from doing your own thing. you’re the only one actually in the way.
  • ignore people now, so you can be more useful to them later.
  • executing while moving is essential. i’m a big “plan” guy, and recent experience tells me that you need to be able to execute while planning or you’ll sink. ignore others to get your idea up to a testable stage, then start things and course correct. i’m going to be doing this next.


reflections…

i’ve realized the hard truth once again that most of what i’m offering is a service and not a hard asset or product. i know i’m not the only one with this problem. although proper services are more easily streamlined then just saying, “i do x” …they stand as a form of trading time for money. it’s such a challenge to me to balance the actions i love, and putting them into something tangible for a targeted audience to buy. but that’s a business in nutshell. if you sell a straight up product, you’re lucky…although i bet you have your own list of hurdles.

trading your time for money will always seem more appealing than it is, and although it can be rewarding, usually ends disappointingly. i learn this weekly, and will eventually let it sink in. it’s in my nature to help, and there’s nothing wrong with it, but if you fail to balance taking jobs vs creating assets, you’ll never stop being a wheel in the system.

trading time for money lends itself to overwork, stress, and the cyclical rat race. creating assets pays you back more than you put in (dividends), numerous times, and creates a legacy. being in control of your own career, and creating life freedom is going to require building business, not just working. so keeping product creation in mind while performing services, whether for repackaging or awareness is important.

–

i”ve taken a step back to realize that launching all these services at once isn’t realistic. i’m a perfectionist and think i need to do them all at once. i’m wrong. i can’t just watch the train and expect to get from point A to B. i have to get on and figure out some things along the way.

i’ll be launching with 3 of my  6 services to see what happens, where things go, and to push along product ideas. this will start the phase out of the “behind doors” creation mode into action for this relaunch.


as a side note, i feel bad that this blog hasn’t been a step by step for success in the income stage, especially when it comes to my mess of trying to build business online. i’d be such a better example if i just picked selling iphone cases or something and detailed my foray into trying to make that profitable online, but instead i continue to try to package up my passion, and note the several side ventures that come along the journey. the experience is molding me into what i need to be. i can finally admit that my natural inclinations go against the flow of business (too much planning, not enough singular focus on product, not quick enough, difficult to say no)…i should seriously contemplate hiring a boss for myself.

i think i’ve captured what i’m going through, for better or worse well and consistently. it’s not an easy course, but the experience, the continued education does nothing but propel forward, so i hope you’re following along not just in reading, but in your own journey. in reality it has been more about the mental tunnels and education than debunking the online elements like social media, payment gateways and SEO. those things are great to decipher, and i’ll likely post the success i’ve had with the tools i’ve used so far next, but it’s much more about continuing to test, prod, poke, and venture into your ideas and face your fears than any one great online service or program to unlock online income.


cheers, more to come…


LDP commitments updates

LDP commitments for jan 30th:

  • come up with 5 business goals for 2011 (failed/ignored)
  • write at least 3 pages content for hdvideotest.com (failed/ignored)
  • WP “do it for me” service online and buyable (complete)
  • WP backup salespage draft written (complete)
  • WP troubleshooting form and “pitch page” (complete)
  • write up a launch strategy for publicly “releasing” services (failed/ignored)
  • build landing page for e-mail newsletters and campaigns page (failed/ignored)

NEW LDP commitments for Feb 27th: “execute while moving”

  • come up with 5 business goals for 2011 and post to physical wall
  • write up a launch strategy for publicly “releasing” services
    • draft “relaunch post”
  • build “launching a product” options page, and start product pages, and service order page
  • create branded “proposal” and “agreement” documents for the contracted services (vs the info product ones)
  • create “launching a product” options in ejunkie
  • integrate all ejunkie products with mailchimp e-mail campaign auto add
  • create mailchimp starter campaigns for each product & service, to say thank you, ask if they’re happy or can suggest improvements, or would like to do a testimonial. likely 7 days after purchase.
  • a round of website visual updates and edits
  • print and post up these goals in front of my face

Photo by Horia Varlan